“We can be brothers,” Olivier mumbled. “But nothing more. No—no more sex.”
Well, that blew. Eric still wanted to fuck him. He couldn’t forget the way Olivier had moaned into his mouth, the way Olivier had arched toward him. Olivier on the floor after the enema, his legs spread, his cock throbbing in Eric’s hand.
Maybe Eric was into this just because he was horny, but even then... The thought of Olivier beneath him sent his blood surging south.
“You’re sure you don’t want my cock inside you?” Eric asked. “If you’re pregnant, you can take my knot now. No condoms.”
Olivier sucked in a sharp breath, musk coiling off his skin. “No. No sex.”
But he was interested, and Eric was content to play along. He pulled Olivier against his chest, sniffing at Ollie’s ear, then down his neck. Eric found the scab of his mark on Olivier’s scent gland, right over someone else’s silvery scar. Made his instincts growl. “Who gave you that mark?”
Olivier shrugged. “An ex. He doesn’t matter now.”
“Yeah? Why’d you break up with him?”
“He wasn’t great.” Olivier winced. “I don’t want to talk about him. Please.”
“Then what do you wanna talk about?” Eric kissed the bonding mark; Olivier sighed. Uncertainly, Eric asked, “Am I forgiven?”
“I guess you are. I mean, both of us are at fault.” Olivier made a face. “It’ll only work if both of us forgive each other, right? But that night, on the fire escape... I lied because I was trying to keep you away. I’d figured that, if you thought I didn’t love you, you wouldn’t stay with me. And you’d keep your relationship with your mom and Dad.”
It sounded like a legitimate reason. Hell, it had worked. “She’s your mom too, you know.”
Olivier shrugged uncomfortably. “You know she’s never liked me. I don’t think she’ll like me more if she finds out that—that I’ve slept with you.”
That wasn’t a problem Eric could solve. Yeah, he’d noticed that his mom didn’t quite get as happy whenever he talked about Ollie. But she loved Olivier, right?
At Ollie’s downcast expression, Eric changed the topic. “You wanted me enough to jizz in my hand. On the fire escape.”
Olivier groaned, burying his face in Eric’s shoulder. “It shouldn’t happen again.”
“You want my mouth around your cock.”
Olivier trembled, his musk betraying his interest. “We’re brothers, Eric.”
“Stepbrothers. Not related by blood. So we can fuck as much as we want.”
Olivier gulped. “Stop talking about fucking.”
“Why? Because you want my knot?”
Olivier groaned, sliding his palm down Eric’s side. Then he found Eric’s ass, squeezing it lightly. His touch went straight to Eric’s cock.
“That’s not brotherly at all, Ollie,” Eric growled. “But if you kiss my ass, I’ll kiss yours.”
Olivier whimpered. “I’m not forgiven, am I?”
“You still love me,” Eric murmured.
“In the most shameful way.” Olivier flushed, pulling his hand away. “We shouldn’t be doing this. I’m not someone you want, Eric. I...”
Eric slipped his fingers through Olivier’s hair, tipping his head back. Ollie gasped. Before he could squirm away, Eric kissed him lightly on the lips.
“That’s all I wanted to know,” Eric murmured. “I can’t promise you everything. I’ve fucked up more than you can imagine, Ollie. But I want to just... I want to try again. I want to protect you like I promised I would.”
Olivier stared, his eyes wide and disbelieving.
“I forgive you,” Eric said against his mouth.
Olivier whimpered, choking up. “Th-thank you. I’m not... not mad at you, either. I just wish you’d told me about your job earlier. Before... before any of this.”
“I’m sorry.” Eric cradled Olivier against himself, sniffing at Olivier’s hair.
Olivier felt vulnerable against him, in need of protection. Eric wanted to bring him home. He wanted to claim this omega as his own.
“I promise I won’t keep any more secrets from you,” Eric said, feeling like he was baring his soul. “If you really want... you’ll see all of me. I’m—I’m not the brother you used to know.”
“And I’m not the Ollie from your past, either.” Olivier smiled crookedly. “I’ve been messing up, too.”
“That’s fine,” Eric said, brushing his fingers through Olivier’s hair, just holding Ollie against himself. “We’ll work things out.”
“We’ll stay as brothers,” Olivier mumbled.
“You sure?” Eric kissed his ear, stroking down Ollie’s spine. “Don’t you wanna go home and... explore your bed? With me.”
Olivier released a shaky breath, his pupils dilating. “We really shouldn’t. You’ll be seeing Dad and your mom, right? They’ll smell me on you. They’ll know, Eric, and I... I don’t think I’d be able to face Dad again.”
“I’ll erase the scent. It’s not like I can’t find scent suppressants at every other store.” Eric kissed down Olivier’s throat, lingering at his pulse point. Every beat of Olivier’s heart fluttered against his lips.
“I don’t want to ruin things for you.” Olivier made a face. “Where’s your daughter? I can’t just—”
“She’s with Mom right now. She’s fine.”
“That’s even worse!” Olivier leaned away from Eric, his forehead wrinkled. “What if they stop caring for her? Are you staying with them? What if they throw you out?”
Eric hadn’t thought that far. “I could move in with you?” he suggested, really as a joke.
Olivier seemed to mull on it, though. “I guess that’s okay. I mean... I could use some help with rent.”
Sharing a space with Olivier... Eric wasn’t in love with him. But he trusted Olivier, trusted that Ollie was still the same person, deep down. And maybe he wanted to know how Olivier would react, seeing Jenn. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea.
“I don’t mind,” Eric said slowly. “I have a nine-month-old... Wait. You already knew that.”
Olivier flushed. “I’ve been, um. Keeping up with your Facebook updates.”
Eric’s heart warmed. So Ollie really cared, huh?
